Ambulance Services: Training
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of suicide prevention training provided to ambulance staff.
Answered by Karin Smyth
The mental health of all National Health Service staff is a high priority, including ambulance staff as responders to emergency incidents.
Significant work is underway to strengthen the quality and consistency of suicide training across the health system. NHS England published Staying Safe from Suicide: Best Practice Guidance for Safety Assessment, Formulation and Management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. This guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/
At a national level ambulance staff have access to the SHOUT helpline for crisis support alongside the Practitioner Health service for more complex mental health wellbeing support, including trauma and addiction. Additionally, ambulance trusts and the Association of Ambulance Trust Chief Executives have worked closely with NHS England to develop an ambulance sector specific suicide prevention pathway to provide immediate support 24/7 for staff experiencing suicidal ideation.
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